


Time To Go

by gerty_3000



Category: Robot Series - Isaac Asimov
Genre: M/M, goodbye kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 09:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6512542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gerty_3000/pseuds/gerty_3000





	Time To Go

It was time to go.

He had spent four days aboard the ship that took him back to Earth. Four days with Daneel Olivaw. Four days of unbarred, uninhibited bonding - no interruptions from Giskard, or other robots, and certainly not from crew members upon the ship. Four days of alternating deep and shallow conversation with the robot who was not quite a robot, but not quite a human. Four days of careful, hesitant, fleeting touches; neither quite sure of what they really wanted. A certain melancholy had come over the cabin when it was almost time to land. The news hit Lije harder than he thought it would, but he was good at suppressing things, damn good at burying every niggling emotion to so far under the surface that it would be easy to pretend they were never there.

“We have landed.”

He managed a small, half-bitter smile when the announcement came over the speakers, standing up abruptly. He felt the strange conflict inside of him: the want to leave immediately, burrow underneath the protective cover of his precious caves of steel, and… the want to stay. Stay on the ship, stay with Daneel. It caused him to pause, standing still, expression quickly changing from unpassionate smile to a confused furrowed brow.

Daneel stepped forward, the very slight concern washing over his face. Baley felt that if someone didn’t know Daneel as well as he did, that they wouldn’t detect the microchange in expression. But, Elijah could. Elijah was observant, and caring. It only took four steps, four short strides of Daneel’s long legs before they were face to face, with the Spacer’s head tilted down slightly to meet Elijah’s eyes. Damned Spacer’s, always with their ridiculous height advantage. Baley didn’t feel overwhelmed by it, though. He peered up at Daneel’s shimmering blue eyes and practically pouted - pouted!

“It is time for you to go, Partner Elijah.” He said, softly, voice always with such gentle intonation, all the care in the world put into his words.

Baley nodded, swallowing hard. He felt lost for words. Daneel’s observation, obvious as it was, only strengthened his internal conflict. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to go. Oh, Jehoshaphat, why was this such a hard choice?!

The Plainclothesman reached forward, acting as if driven by instinct, and grabbed Daneel’s hands. Soft. Soft hands, long, even fingers, pristine in their entirety, just like the rest of Daneel. Perfect Daneel. He huffed in his frustration, and tugged on his partner’s hands, prompting him to lean down. It was an unspoken order, one that could only be interpreted by the robot because of his ability to see the vague mental map of Elijah’s neural activity.

He tilted, altering his height, and Baley lifted himself, trying to meet the robot halfway, and crushed his lips against Daneel’s own. 

A myriad of thoughts popped into Elijah’s mind as he stood there, mouth hurting a bit from the force in which he had pressed it against the other man’s. His lips were dry, but not chapped. They were shaped in a surprised ‘oh’, though that could have been interpreted as returning the kiss. He could feel the other’s hands tremble slightly in his grasp - or was that his own hands shaking? He couldn’t really tell. He didn’t really care.

He pulled away almost as quickly as he had leaned in, detaching himself from Daneel, taking half a step back. His face was warm, ungodly warm, and his palms felt damp. He cleared his throat awkwardly, started to say a sentence, decided against it, changed his mind and tried again.

“I’m not going to see you again for a long time, Daneel.” He said, his voice a quiet rasp, eyes cast towards the floor. “I’m going to miss you greatly.” 

Daneel nodded once, a motion that Baley could see despite his downward eyes. It was Daneel’s turn to reach forward and take the other’s hands, his expression pulled into a slight grave smile. There was sadness in his eyes - no deep interpretation or internal debate over whether Daneel could actually feel sadness. It was there, in the deep blue.

“I will miss you as well, Partner Elijah.” He murmured. They stood like that for a moment, silently taking in each other’s presence. Elijah’s chest felt tight, his throat tighter. He wanted to go home. He wanted Daneel to be with him. He gave his partner’s hands a small squeeze, pulled away, and practically staggered out of the ship. He didn’t know when he was going to see Daneel again, but felt that this was most likely his last goodbye.


End file.
